I'm sure I'll share my ratings at some point, most likely in a book review. I'm not sure the drinks will be coming to the Grogalizer or not. I'll have to check with Swanky. Or maybe he can chime in here. Like the appendixes of Remixed, many of the drinks in Potions don't fit into the Grogalier's classic Tiki drink format. But there are still a good percentage that do.

The difficult thing with the drinks in "Potions" is that more than any other of the Bum's books, these are cocktails that are meant to embellish the stories. With Sippin' Safari, you can still enjoy most of the drinks separately and not lose anything. But with the exception of some of the Don Beach and Trader Vic drinks that we all love anyway, taking a lot of the "Potions" drinks out of the context of the book doesn't do them justice. So I'm trying to my best to sample them as I read a particular chapter.

There are quite a few classics in Chapter 5 that I plan to address with separate reviews TBA. I'm sure these will float up to the top of the heap.

Thanks for the response Hurricane Hayward, I appreciate it. That is a good point about the drinks needing the context of the story to get the most out of them.
I'd still like to see all the drinks in the Grogalizer. I have 54 drink ratings, under a different username, to your 272.
I really get a lot out of your Grogalizer comments, as we have very similar tastes in tropical drinks. You do a great job on the Atomic Grog blog, too.

How easy is it to find white grapefruit in the supermarkets in Florida? Pink grapefruit makes up 99.99% of the market here in Southern California.

When you say you need the story to fully appreciate the drink, is the implication that the drinks aren't all that great by themselves?
_________________"You can't eat real Polynesian food. It's the most horrible junk I've ever tasted." —Trader Vic Bergeron

Ordered mine today, free 2 day shipping on Amazon Prime _________________May we all get to have a chance to ride the fast one
Walk away wiser when we crashed one
Keep hoping that the best one is the last one

On 2014-02-21 12:04, TikiTacky wrote:When you say you need the story to fully appreciate the drink, is the implication that the drinks aren't all that great by themselves?

That's a very good question. I'm still absorbing the book, as well as the drinks, so I'll pass the buck and say you'll have to read my upcoming review for a complete analysis.

But just off the cuff, I'll admit that I'm still steadfast in my love for Sippin' Safari. I don't think you can touch that book for its combination of story and drinks. But Potions definitely has a much broader and entertaining story. Is every drink a winner? Probably not, but I don't think that's the point of the book. If you're looking for pure bang-for-your-buck classic Tiki cocktail recipes, you definitely want Remixed. But if you're looking for the story behind the drinks, you can get a pure Tiki fix with Sippin' Safari, or a comprehensive historical analysis with Potions. The Bum covers all the bases.

As I write, I'm sippin' on Ray Buhen's Virgin Island Kula, which I will definitely add to the list of top drinks (it rates a 7). And I just realized that I left two other favorites off the list above:
Planter's Punch (improved), p. 74 (rating: 8 )
Myrtle Bank Punch (Donn's version), p. 181 (rating: 7)

Finally got around to ordering my copy and should have it shortly (yay for Amazon Prime!). I'll admit that I usually enjoy reading about the drinks than making them, but I'm still excited. Jeff is a great storyteller, and I'm sure to get lost in the history if it all.
_________________"You can't eat real Polynesian food. It's the most horrible junk I've ever tasted." —Trader Vic Bergeron

I thought I'd pass along that Mr. Bum informed me that his favorite recipes from this new book were the Improved Planters, Voodoo Grog and Colonial Grog, although he noted that you might want to double that last one.
_________________"You can't eat real Polynesian food. It's the most horrible junk I've ever tasted." —Trader Vic Bergeron

On my list, the Voodoo Grog ranks right up there with the Planter's Punch (rating: 8 out of 10). Spicy and creamy with lots of nuances of flavor. The sweet offsets the strong nicely.

The Tiki Bowl (rating: 7) is a classic Trader Vic's drink with familiar flavors (rum, OJ, lemon, orgeat), similar to the Scorpion but with cognac instead of brandy.

And the Tropical Itch by Joe Scialom (rating: 7) is rich and decadent with quite a punch from 5 ounces of alcohol. To me, it's superior to the Tropical Itch recipe by Harry Yee that was in Remixed and Intoxica, though the true inventor of the backscratcher-garnished concoction will probably remain a mystery.

Still many more to go, including two more Mai-Kai ancestor recipes, so I'll report back soon.

Received my copy VIA Amazon. Much like Sippin Safari, the back stories are sometimes more interesting than the drink recipes themselves. All in all an excellent read and great recipes to add to my collection.

_________________I bet you feel more like you do now now than you did when you came in.